Sunday, March 9, 2014

Children's Review: Night of the White Deer


Book Title: THe Night of the White Deer
Author: Jack Bushnell, Miguel Co (Illustrator) |Goodreads Profile
Publisher: Tanglewood Press
Genre: Children's Fantasy/ Picture Book
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Format: Hardcover
Cost: $16.95
Pages: 32
How I got it: NetGalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher
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Synopsis:
The boy had heard the old stories about a mysterious white deer that appeared among the fields of corn. Some said she had been formed from a star that fell to the earth; others said she had risen up from some tanks of spilt milk. But to the young boy, it seemed that’s all she was, the stuff of stories — until one night when she appears on his farm, standing in the field, her coat a sparkling white. During this magical nighttime encounter, the deer leads the boy into the skies on a flight through the lights of the aurora, among the countless other creatures living in its glistening colors. But the boy will discover more the next day, when he tells his family about his experience. This modern folk tale inspires young readers to see the magic that comes from the twinkles of the nighttime sky


This is a beautifully illustrated book. The images are engaging and draw the reader in, I read it to my goddaughter from my ipad and she was enchanted by the images (truth be told so was I).  However at the end of the story I was wondering what was the point, and so was she, she asked where was the rest and I had to explain that was the end.

Although the images captured her attention, there was no real meat to the story so she really wasn't as fascinated as with other stories. I really picked this book because I wanted to have a good story for a pagan child and this sounded like it was going to be that kind of story.  While it shared a wonderful magical aspect of the mundane world ( Like the Northern Lights) it didn't teach anything, didn't share any twist on how things were created, didn't share who came up with the tale about the white deer, just she appears and she leaves.
 ★★1/2
It's cute but needed more. If you were borrowing from the library then this is a cute story just to show the images, but to purchase for that price?? I'm not too sure I could in good conciseness recommend doing so.  

Why not read it and come back and share what you thought would me??


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